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Arts & CultureOutputWorks by Yale alumni and faculty
Akhil Reed Amar ’80, ’84JD, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science There are only about 8,000 words in the written US Constitution, and many of our most cherished principles, from the inherent inequality of racial segregation to one person, one vote, are not found in the text. The “ground rules that actually govern our land” are all laid out in the unwritten Constitution—the “judicial opinions, executive practices, legislative enactments, and American traditions” that fill in the gaps. Amar provides a fascinating review of the nation’s two operating manuals.
James Gustave Speth ’64, ’69LLB “We have let conditions of life in America deteriorate across a broad front and are headed straight to a place we would not want for our children and grandchildren,” writes Gus Speth, former dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a prominent environmentalist. From the Tea Party to Occupy Wall Street, there’s broad agreement that “system change” is absolutely necessary, Speth notes. In this provocative and ultimately hopeful analysis, he proposes a new progressive course “from today’s decline to tomorrow’s rebirth.”
Stephen L. Carter ’79JD, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law What if Lincoln had survived the assassination attempt? That’s the intriguing premise of Carter’s latest novel, a historical and political page-turner that opens almost two years after the Civil War ends. In a capital plagued with backbiting and gridlock (imagine that), Lincoln—rather than Andrew Johnson, who in this world was the one murdered—faces impeachment. The fate of the president may depend on one Abigail Canner, a young black woman whose “ambition would carry her to the center of great events.”
Tanya Wexler ’92, director In Victorian England, many upper-crust women were thought to suffer from a nervous ailment, hysteria, caused by a “wandering uterus”—which doctors could relieve by using manual genital stimulation to induce, yes, healthful “paroxysms.” To make the process easier, the vibrator was born. From this ludicrous historical moment, Wexler has created a romantic farce of a film (starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy, released to theaters in May and available on DVD September 18) that never uses the word “orgasm” but includes several of them, strictly therapeutic and properly veiled, in a doctor’s office.
Jacqueline Austin ’75, coproducer, sound director, and co–interface designer In an iPad app downloadable from iTunes, Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic adventure story has been transformed into a kind of digital pop-up book for children. There’s plenty of text to read, but there are also music, sound effects, and animated illustrations. With a swipe of the screen, kids can fire cannons, bring a spyglass into focus, or turn day into night. Grown-ups might enjoy it, too.
More works by Yale authors Michael Apuzzo ’05 Michael Astrue ’78 Leslie Brody ’83 Pauline A. Chen ’90JD Robert M. Cipes ’57 David M. Darst ’69 Abigail L. Donovan ’98, ’03MD, and Laura M. Praeger MD Aaron M. Ellison ’82, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Elizabeth J. Farnsworth, and Gary D. Alpert Robert E. Galloway ’73MD Warren Meredith Harris ’71MDiv Gary Hart ’61Div, ’64Law Gretchen Heefner ’09PhD Michael Henle ’70PhD Seth Jacobs ’86 Sarah S. Kilborne ’90 E. J. Levy ’86 Helen Phillips ’04 Carlin Romano ’77 Andrew Rosenheim ’76 Lori Rotskoff ’99PhD James Salzman ’85 Andrew Solomon ’85 Deanna A. Thompson ’92Div Lanny Vincent ’78MDiv
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